Bitter or Better?

A recent Pew research report reveals that 64% of Americans believe social media has mostly negative effects on the country. I was surprised. I thought it might be 100%.

Consider what's broken. According to the report, The Four Horsemen of Social Media are misinformation, harassment, partisanship, and polarization.

Here's a secret: these are problems with the human heart more than human technology.

Before the invention of electricity, James said this about the tongue:

*So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.*

*Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.*

*With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in God's likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.*

*Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.*

That's you. That's me.

If our words will enable spiritual growth, we need God, in his grace, to enable us to believe this is true.

We will need God's word—God's blessing—to make our hearts fresh springs.

We will need the Holy Spirit whispering in the depths of our soul: this is what love looks like.

I can't get the bitterness out of my heart. But maybe if I cling to God, he can.

So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in God's likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.